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Business as usual for support worker Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison Northern News Services Published Monday, July 4, 2011
"I did my usual duty," the Fort Simpson resident said, although there's nothing ordinary about her work. The 42 year old, along with two of her colleagues at Deh Cho Health and Social Services, are just part of the larger support system in place to make the communities safer and healthier for elders. Their services as home support workers let residents live in their own homes as long as possible before moving to a long-term care facility or hospital. Every morning the three women go over who they need to visit that day, which of them will go where and then they "go on (their) merry way," Elleze said. Throughout the day they visit elders in their homes, check their vitals, do their shopping or accompany them to appointments, tidy up around their homes, make sure they exercise and do anything else they can to ensure the elders are happy and comfortable. At the end of the day, the three home support workers meet again to touch base and talk about any concerns they encountered. "The elders are getting older and you can't do much besides keep an eye on them," she said. "Not all the meds will work, you know." In addition to providing health support, they also act as friends and confidantes to the elders. They listen to their stories, often of their past lives living in camps across the Mackenzie River, and make them laugh with stories of their own. They spend time to cook for them, too, and bring homemade bannock or soup to stock their kitchens. Often, she is the only company elders will have that day. "I think they look forward to us coming down to see them. Sometimes they don't get any visitors at all," she said. Elleze has been a home support worker for five years and said she loves everything about the job, even if things don't go as planned. "Every day is different. You don't know if you'll be sweared at or greeted good," she said. "Every day is a challenge, you know, and that's what I like about it." One challenge though, which is unique to her job, is dealing with the deaths of her clients. Elleze said that in the past five years, she has gone to eight funerals for people she used to visit and care for. "The hardest part is losing them," she said. "If we lose them, we don't have time to grieve for ourselves, you know, we just go right back out in the field like they weren't never there. That's the hardest part."
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